Seattle may be about to get an NBA basketball team again -- and this time, its citizens might not have to pick up part of the tab. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen are reportedly teaming up to move the hapless Sacramento Kings to Washington state.

With Jeremy Lin's standout performances bringing a sudden shine to the otherwise lackluster New York Knicks, a number of companies have hitched their wagons to his star to buff up their brands. And with the value of such an association easy to see, why wouldn't they?

After months of bitter negotiations, NBA owners and players finally agreed to terms, and a pro basketball season will start on Christmas Day. So who besides players, owners and fans will benefit? Let's start with stockholders in these companies.

After the strife-torn NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the basketball season, we wondered: Would this mean any financial relief for fans? Somewhere in the war between the wealthy players and owners, are there savings to be found for the ordinary people who spend money on NBA tickets and gear?

LeBron James isn't sitting still in the NBA off season. He's introducing a new product, called Sheets Energy Strips, that supplies a flavored dose of caffeine and vitamins as it dissolves on the tongue. The strips will be sold from vending machines.

The owners of Boston's Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins recently held a panel to discuss ways to cut ticket prices for the average fan -- and came up with virtually nothing. So DailyFinance asked experts and fans for creative ways to push ticket prices down. Here are the 10 best we heard.

With high-speed Internet access becoming ubiquitous, today's telecommuters can live almost anywhere. DailyFinance has gone hunting for the cities that offer the best combination of urban goodies, charm, culture and recreation, at prices that New Yorkers and Angelenos would envy.

Retailers such as Toys R Us, Rockport and Borders hope to grow their Web sales with a new shipping service called ShopRunner.com. Much like Amazon's Prime program, consumers pay $79 per year for a membership, which lets them ship as many orders as they want from ShopRunner's retail partners.

Google has announced a list of content partners for its much-anticipated new entertainment offering. Among them are HBO, CNBC and the National Basketball Association. Notably missing are big TV networks -- or any mention of price.

When someone recently asked basketball great Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player in NBA history, whom he thought was better -- LeBron James or Kobe Bryant -- he blurted out "Kobe." Based on what people pay for their sports memorabilia, it appears collectors would tend to agree.

NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert $100,000 on Monday for the scathing letter he published after former Cavs star LeBron James announced he was heading to the Miami Heat next season. Stern also chastised James and Jackson.

ESPN's controversial special featuring basketball superstar LeBron James revealing where he would play next season garnered an overnight Nielsen rating of 7.3, according to the Walt Disney-owned cable channel.

Madison Square Garden shares were bouncing like a basketball this week amid speculation that NBA superstar LeBron James might join the New York Knicks, and they could still be active Friday in the wake of his announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team LeBron James left to join the Miami Heat, has released a scathing open letter attacking the NBA star. The letter seems to put a curse on LeBron, as angry Cleveland fans burn his jersey.

LeBron James' decision to sign with the Miami Heat means the New Jersey Nets' owners will miss out on a huge jump in team value if the basketball star had chosen it instead. And one of the Nets' owners is LeBron pal, Jay-Z. The hip-hop mogul missed out on a potential gain of over $5 million.

Months of speculation about where the basketball superstar would land is at an end. He's headed for South Florida, where he'll join the Miami Heat next season. James will be teaming with Heat star Dwayne Wade and rising talent Chris Bosh, who recently signed with the team.